For Your Oscar Consideration - UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality

 UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality is in consideration for the Academy Awards and the deep consideration starts TODAY! Please pass this along to any and all Academy members that you know, as I really can't think of many more important topics than making sure our fellow humans are housed. It's THE most basic human right, yet we allow so many of our citizens to sleep out on the streets in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It's just not right. And we all need to be talking about it until we can really be called a decent civilization, by providing the very least anyone can ask for - shelter. It was an honor and a privilege to help produce this film, and our team, led by director Colin Gray, is all in on doing whatever we can to help make it a world where the most basic needs are being met ... by raising the roof!

 

Many, if not most, Academy members live in Los Angeles and can see the massive and outrageous problem of people living on the streets every day. One can complain about it, or one can do something about it. We chose the latter by making this film. The intent we set out with was to at least start the conversation to find solutions, rather than look the other way, as so many do when faced with this situation. 

A good starting point with any tough subject is always EMPATHY. The NIMBY people who don't care what happens as long as they don't have to see houseless HUMANS in their neighborhood don't seem to realize how quickly it could be them. You lose a job, a family member gets an illness, your rent gets raised, and BOOM.  I've seen it happen to more than one person I know, and no one is as stable as they think they are. We have to start CARING more, because we truly are all in this together. 

 

 

We held a screening at Beyond Baroque on Monday night for Oscar voters to consider UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality as a worthy competitor for the Academy Awards, and to raise awareness for our #RaiseTheRoof Impact Hub.  This is a resource that goes beyond the film to help people find help and resources in their area, as well as for those who want TO help and OFFER resources. It was clear that this topic truly affects us all, and it's high time we all did something about it. That is why we're pushing hard for an Oscar nomination. It's not about any personal glory for any of us. but a means to get the word out on a much larger scale, not only about the film, but the ISSUE - and the ways we can all work together to ENSURE that Housing is enshrined as a basic human right. Because it is. 

UNZIPPED is also a finalist for the Anthem Awards in the Awareness and Media category, and we'd be so honored if you would help this project by voting for us there too (anyone can, no need to be in the Academy!). It's nice that we're in the Awareness category, because that's exactly what we're trying to raise - along with roofs. Please vote here - https://celebrate.anthemawards.com/PublicVoting/#/2024/humanitarian-action-services/awareness-media-categories/. Thank you!

I know there are a lot of qualified documentaries, and a lot of very deeply important topics covered, but I really wonder which affect Los Angeles more than our homeless pandemic? Or the world, for that matter. I think about the Olympics coming up in L.A. in 2028, and wonder how they'll erase the inescapable sadness that is the homeless situation all over town? How they'll justify housing an entire Olympic Village for the athletes when they can't find affordable housing for our full time citizens? It's pretty heavy.  I'm currently in Minneapolis taking care of family, where it is starting to get cold. There are major homeless encampments in the city, and people with signs for help at freeway exits and busy intersections all around the Twin Cities and their suburbs. It's the holiday season, and I just don't know how any of us can feel good about any of us sleeping out in the cold. It's truly time to RAISE THE ROOF (that is a hot link for you to follow and get involved!!) for everyone, and I hope so much that you can all help us make it a reality where everyone has safe shelter and enough to eat. This is America, and we need to do far better by our People. We CAN. And we MUST.

UNZIPPED is available to watch now on Amazon Prime and Vimeo, and eligible for you to consider it for the Academy Awards right NOW! Thank you so much for helping us to #RaiseTheRoof!!! We truly appreciate it, and so will all the people we can help together. 

Season's Greetings to All! I miss you, Venice!

Clogtown: Full Cycle - Bikes That Give Back!

While I'm on my Minneapolis Mom sabbatical, I'm looking for places and practices and great ideas that could - and SHOULD - be implemented everywhere (always with an eye on if it would be cool in Venice, of course). Well, when I visited Frostbeard Studio (the awesome store of gifts for book nerds), I saw a bike shop across the street called Full Cycle, and a smaller sign that said "Bikes that give back". O.K. .... needed to know more about that, so in I went.

It turns out that Full Cycle is EXACTLY the kind of space that belongs in Venice. Full Cycle is a full service bike retailer and bike service station, but what makes them unique is that they have a PAID internship program for homeless youth in the area. They teach them how to work on bikes, and then pay them so they don't have to steal them, and also can get on the road to independence and get off the streets. So, what do we have an awful lot of in Venice? Bikes. Homeless people. Bike thefts. Mmmm hmmm. Yep. This program could really work, and really help a lot of people.

Founded 10 years ago by Matt Tennant, Full Cycle set out to try to help the homeless by the paid internship program, free bike appointments (bikes can be borrowed for a six month period to provide healthy transportation and recreation), street outreach, and food access programming. All of this connects the homeless youth to the supportive staff members, who help them with community resources and support services.

Once they graduate from the internship program, they are eligible to become staff mechanics or food delivery drivers - as Full Cycle also has a garden in the back that grows produce to be bike delivered to the area's shelters and drop-in centers, as well as keep the youth full of fresh and healthy vegetables. I'm SO into it ... and really think this could be a very positive solution to a lot of what's going on in Venice too. For real.

Full Cycle is kept afloat by the United Way, corporate donations, some government money, their bike sales and repairs income, and in-kind contributions. That's great, but there's lots of ways that anyone can get involved ... You can donate or purchase a bike, or bring your bike there for maintenance, and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same (because it gives back!). You could make a tax-deductible donation. You can volunteer at their events, or host your own (bike drives, rides, parties - think of the Venice Electric Bike Parade getting behind a Venice shop like this - how great!). You can get your business or workplace involved by giving a team donation. And very importantly, you can refer homeless youth to their programs.  That's quite a few options to help, and all of them are pretty do-able.

Venice (and Greater Los Angeles/Skid Row) probably has the biggest homeless problem, but it's everywhere these days - even in the very cold winters in Minnesota. We MUST do something, and folks like those at Full Cycle ARE doing something about it. And so can you. You can care. You can help in so many ways. There are solutions, as Full Cycle has seen the results of their work helping to get our young people off of these mean streets. Their mission statement: To connect with and support homeless youth, our community, and our Earth through bikes, business, and relationships." What a wonderful concept - made even more wonderful by seeing it in action.

Please consider opening a shop like this, someone in Venice! And Everywhere, for that matter! And if you're in Minneapolis, please consider Full Cycle for all of your bike needs. They're really making a difference. And by supporting them, so can you. Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and I'm very thankful for places like this that embrace humanity and giving in one big group hug - that actually helps people. Thanks, Full Cycle!

Full Cycle
3515 Chicago Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407
#612-824-7581
www.fullcyclebikeshop.org
Open Weds - Friday 12p-7p
Saturday 10a-5p
Closed Sunday

Help The Helpers!

So ... yesterday, like a mere hour after I posted my Help Yourself story about the lovely person putting food out for our people living on the streets, I randomly met the lovely woman walking down Lincoln. "Momma Eileen", a Venice elder and longtime resident, stopped me on the street as she recognized me from social media postings. She had no idea I had just posted about her humanitarian efforts, and when we got to talking (after she hugged me close knowing what I've been dealing with in regards to my Mom's hospitalization), I figured out that she was the benevolent party telling people to "Help yourself!" She was upset. Neighbors had complained, and asked her to put away her food. WHAT?!

In the food's place, there is now a new chalk message, apologizing to our homeless, and urging them to seek help at St. Joseph's. Her jerk neighbors (Developers, of course) complained that the food would attract rats - which to them I assume means human beings that need food. All of the food was in sealed packages, aside from fruit that grows in nearly every Venice yard - that rodents already know about. If it's in a tree or on a fence makes no difference. The only difference here is in the size of the hearts in the parties we're talking about.

I'm seething mad about this, and in that kind of mood where no one should get in your way because you can't take much more. What is WRONG with people, that they would complain about someone helping others? Momma Eileen was even concerned with backlash, and that these heartless wretches would target her in some way if she didn't comply with their complaints to take the food away. Let them try. Not on my watch. The good news is that she gets to keep being her wonderful self, while those fools have to live with their rotten souls, not to mention their karma.

It's time to vote out any and all parties from the Developer/Nimby camps in the upcoming Venice Neighborhood Council elections. It's time to take a moment to examine your own biases and agendas, and come to the realization that we're all in this together, and cruelty gets no one anywhere. It's time to look out for each other, and reclaim our beautiful - and strong - Community for the creative, humanitarian, artistic vortex bubble we've always been proud to be a part of. It's time to join people like Momma Eileen in sharing what we have, no matter what some dickhead neighbor says. If EVERYONE joins in on efforts like hers, the few remaining selfish parties' complaints will cease to matter, because they will be look like the petty, lost souls that they are.

Help the Helpers ... before it's too late (and by that I mean a brewing class war that no one wants, and that no one can win). Thank you, THANK YOU to people like Momma Eileen for trying to make the world a better place every day. I have your backs, and celebrate your very existence.

Help Yourself!

I was on a walk this morning, all the way in my own head, when I was very touched to see that a lovely home on Couer D'Alene had set out a little buffet of to-go food on their fence for anyone who might need it, and wrote in chalk, "Help Yourself!"

That is how we need to be in our community, with shorter fences and longer tables. I thought about what it means to help yourself ... yes, take some food and that meaning, but also we all have to really help ourselves. You can't rely on anyone else to know what help you need, so you either need to ask for it or figure it out on your own. My Mom never complains, and it took me begging to get her to go to the hospital, where she is now, being helped because she finally asked for it. I worked on a heavy show for Viceland last year, Dopesick Nation, where there were so many addicts that simply weren't ready (or didn't know how) to get help - which I suspect is the case for many of the people we see living on our streets - the ones that this food spread is for. Yet we're all in this together, and the residents of this home get that.

It's hard to ask for help, and I find myself always trying to help myself on my own, but when you are lacking strength, and feeling sad, I can't tell you much help means. Even just near strangers telling you on Facebook that they're thinking of you and your Mom in a comment ... I NEEDED that, and SO appreciate it, and hope everyone knows that. My heart swells every time I see that someone cares.

I remember Mr. Rogers saying that in times of crisis, "Look for the Helpers." Walking by this home today, it lifted my spirits and encouraged me to go on in strength - because there are people like this among us still. They had also written, "Happy Mother's Day, Mother Earth!" on their sidewalk in chalk, so I know I love them. And thank them. And plan to emulate them. As we all could do.

Help yourself!

Christmas In Dogtown

After the depressing sight of seeing a Starbucks open for business on our Venice Boardwalk, I needed a boost in my awful, disappointed mood. I got it when a few yards away I saw that some of the people that live on the beach had decorated the umbrella things for Christmas, with a sign that said "Christmas in Dogtown".

I loved that, because it shows that the Christmas spirit is felt by everyone, and also serves as a reminder of just exactly where we are. A place that has always moved to the beat of its own drum (circle). A place that is storied for it's artists, musicians, skaters, surfers, writers, and all of those unafraid to let their freak flags fly. Not a place that wants or needs a corporate chain like the ultimate slap in the face to Venice that a Starbucks on the Boardwalk is. Not a place that would support a Ben & Jerry's moving in RIGHT next door to Charly Temmel's. How insensitive and disrespectful to a long time Mom and Pop business can you be? No one that cares about Venice should be supporting ANY chain store within the city limits. People will argue their "change is inevitable" points, and I really don't care to hear them. People know in their hearts that this is wrong, and that Venice is Dogtown - and should be allowed to be one of the few originals left on this planet full of greed and corporate interests. We don't want to be like everyone else. That's why we're here. But for how long if places like this are allowed to ruin all local character? To run out all the local businesses? To make this legend of a place become just another anonymous mall in America. Gross.

Please think about it all - as well as your part in it - as we prepare to celebrate Christmas in Dogtown.

New Mural On Speedway Celebrates Muscle Beach

There's a big new mural on Speedway right behind Muscle Beach at Speedway, and it shows off some of the things that have historically made Venice a cool place to be. Skating. Surfing. Babes. Boards. Muscles. The good stuff.

Jonas Never has been making his mural mark around town for a while now, and this is another good one that gives passersby a true sense of place. A place that has its fair share of problems, but none of them outweigh the good vibes, and the general aura of letting the good times roll.

There is yet another VNC meeting tonight that will deal with affordable and homeless housing, both sorely needed in this place where Art has always met Crime (and now Eviction - thank you Attaway and Gallo for coining these phrases). I hope that if you're planning to attend (and you should if you care about the future of Venice), and if you do, and you're planning to speak, I hope you're coming with ideas for SOLUTIONS, and not just your complaints. Everyone knows people don't like needles and human waste and people sleeping on the sidewalks, and that you don't want your kids seeing these things on the way to the beach. We get it. But if you're new, and you're freaking out about that, well ... you probably shouldn't have moved your kids here. If you're old school and freaking out about these things, come with solutions, not just shouting over other people. People just embarrassed themselves (but were so self-involved that they probably didn't notice) at the last one, and I'm hoping for a much more civil evening tonight. A meeting where mature citizens who can agree that we all love Venice can come together as the intelligent and creative people that we are (or can be) for the greater good. Come on. Make us all proud. One Love. Thanks in advance.

On a cooler note, right after I saw this new mural this morning, I also saw dolphins! Another bit of glory we get to witness in this excellent (perhaps last) beach community of color and diversity and art. These are the moments you put in your back pocket to get you through things like tonight's meeting - and what makes it all worth it. V's up!

Do Good To All!

Thank God it's Friday. For real. It's been a hard week in California, with people picking up the pieces from the wildfires, breathing bad air, and the general feeling of what's next that we'll have to deal with? Then we shot a wonderful, beautiful homeless family for our documentary 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED this week, and I found myself wondering how come there's an outpouring of help and support for the fire victims in the Malibu area (as there should be), but those same people coming out of the woodwork to help the (generally wealthy and insured) folks affected by the fire (when it's trendy) generally just walk on by the thousands of people living on the street with nothing every day. It bothers me. Especially when a call for help went out asking for "Only new, not used" items, like Malibu people could only accept new fashion brands for help, keep your used stuff. Like, really? There are people who would be THRILLED to have ANYTHING, but please, for Malibu, only give new, preferably name brands was the vibe (plus, what a waste in the already super-polluting fashion industry). I believe we are meant to help EVERYONE, with any and every thing we are able to, when and if we can. And we usually can.

DeShawn, Nikol, and their babies, Jade and Diamond live on the streets of Venice. They are college graduates. They are artists. And they are homeless, due to multiple circumstances. The couple met on the Boardwalk, and their devotion to each other, and their children, is tear-jerking, if you weren't already emotional from just the fact that they live in a tent with two daughters under two years old - which I was.

Even with all of their harsh realities, DeShawn and Nikol have the best attitudes and spirits of almost anyone I've ever met. Just wait until you watch our film and hear their beautiful philosophies on life,  and you won't be able to help feeling a little guilty about any little complaint you might have about your own, most likely comfortable, lives. It's truly awe-inspiring that they can move through this world with such grace and calm, when so many are so much less with so much more. I checked myself, as should we all, really.

When the family was tucking in for the night in a tent on the cold sidewalk by public storage, I was a mess inside. I was also freezing, and I wasn't about to sleep on concrete with two babies. Yet once again, DeShawn and Nikol were just practical and doting on their babies, making sure they were warm and cozy far more than themselves. They are not the typical homeless story these days. They are driven in their art, they aren't on drugs, and they are a seemingly far more happy family than many in Los Angeles who have everything they could ever need - and more. Money doesn't buy you happiness, but it does buy you a warm bed and a roof over your head, and that's the only thing this wonderful little family doesn't have. Yet. We're all working on it. (You can help too, by buying some art from them when you see them on the Boardwalk!)

There is so little affordable housing in Venice now (believe me, I know), and I fear that compassion, humanity, and empathy is getting just as scarce. Then, every once in a while, you hear of someone helping just out of the goodness of their heart, and you are encouraged to go on. To stay. To fight. To help.

After all of the beauty and emotion (and art!) of the week, we decided to pile on and experience some more, this time at the excellent Ai Wei Wei exhibit Life Cycle at the Marciano Art Foundation. I love Wei Wei, and his dedication to putting a spotlight on the human condition worldwide. This show (his first in Los Angeles!) is about refugees and freedom of speech, among other hefty topics, but most of all, it's beautiful and inspiring (and free!).

I love a good quote, and there are many surrounding this show, again full of beauty and inspiration, but also majorly thought-provoking.

I believe we can absolutely do good to all who come into our orbit, as even the smallest act of kindness can create change for the better in someone's life, and I'm sure going to try. I hope you will join me. As I often say, we're all in this together. Plus, it's almost Thanksgiving, so let's focus on being grateful - and helpful. Happy Weekend of doing good!

*Happy 168th Birthday to Abbot Kinney (and to dear Vavine, my Ai Wei Wei co-adventurer!)

The Downtown Women's Center - Still They Rise

Anyone who lives in Venice - Greater Los Angeles, really - knows all about the homeless epidemic. The U.N. sent a representative to tour Skid Row. Ben Carson (current head of HUD) was just there the day before - for his first time, though this is his JOB to know about. He said it "tugged at his heartstrings", and he was right. It does. You cannot believe what you're seeing is the United States when you're walking the 50 square blocks of squalor downtown. My friends and I figure we're all in this together, and rather than just talk about it all the time, we should DO something. So we did.

My friend, Christina Conway, spearheaded our first volunteer mission for the Downtown Women's Center and we decided to first do the toiletry kits that are so needed for ladies who have been living on the streets. Between everyone we know, there's a lot of ways to get supplies, like hitting up p.r. firms and hotels and corporate businesses (who should be doing this anyway) to get donations of travel size shampoos, conditioners, lotions, toothpaste, brushes, dental floss, deodorant ... the basic needs we all have. If we couldn't find things that way, there was always the 99 Cent Store.

We got together on a Sunday afternoon at Christina's house, and had a blast assembling the bags, while we also got the bonus of catching up with each other in our busy lives. Christina put out a great spread and jammed good tunes while we chatted and collated all the things that had been found to include. Hair ties, cotton swabs, energy bars, hand sanitizer, whatever we could get to make a woman feel a little better about herself, along with notes of encouragement and love handwritten by everyone there to let the women know that people DO care.

Christina and I got together yesterday to go downtown and deliver the goods to the Downtown Women's Center, and were once again horrified that the absolute Walking Dead scene that is Skid Row is allowed to exist here in "The Greatest Country In The World".  When you hear that phrase now after ever seeing Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles, you know that it now seems like just a bad joke. It couldn't be further from the truth these days, and the People are just going to have to take care of each other. We HAVE to.

We brought in the boxes of bags, and it was a fun atmosphere inside, a welcome reprieve from the hot sun and total poverty outside. Missy Elliot was blasting, ladies were chatting, and volunteers were running around taking care of things. It was encouraging to see that we were not nearly alone in our dropping off of Care packages, as there was a steady stream of like-minded ladies bringing in their own versions. We saw the kitchen where we will soon be going to prepare a meal for the clients, and the dining room where the women assemble to eat and gather. There are a whole bunch of programs going on all of the time, from movies to music to games to seminars. There is a big sign behind the check-in counter that says "Still I Rise", after the Maya Angelou poem, and here ... you can believe these women will, with the good work and support these people are doing. (We took no photos here, because of respect.)

We met Andy Motz, the Communications Coordinator, who took us on a little tour of the facility. There is a health clinic in-house, so twice a week women can get checkups and referrals. This includes the very, very needed mental health workers also. There is a t.v. area, where the women can just check out of reality for a bit. There is also permanent housing available here upstairs - also with support services -  and we saw the sitting area where the residents can hang out in the lobby.

Motz took us outside and showed us the very impressive "Made - By DWC" storefront outside. There are lovely gifts that would be right at home in any shop on Abbot Kinney, from candles in beautiful teacups, to handmade journals and soap. The women from DWC make all of the products themselves, and all proceeds go back to the Center. Next time you need a great gift (Mother's Day is coming!), this is the spot, because you'll make Mom smile AND help get the women of Los Angeles off of the streets.

Next to the handmade goods is a little café, where women can work, and again, the profits go back to the DWC. The sandwiches were freshly made from Homeboy Bakery (the fantastic organization helping keep people out of gangs), which were great and again helping TWO organizations just by eating. We vote - and help each other out - with our dollars. Christina also said that they have the best chai latté in town, so take note of that if that is your flavor!

We had a zillion questions and Motz answered them all thoughtfully, and we all shared our mutual gratitude for each other, and the true relief that at least there are still some people who care and are trying to do something about this horror story that is the homeless situation here in Los Angeles ... and around the whole country, really, but it is honestly just not right. Not with all of the (unevenly distributed) wealth in this city, that often just drives right past with the windows up. Or in Venice, steps over fellow human beings on the sidewalks on the way into their BUB.

Not us, and I hope not you. There are SO many opportunities to help. You can volunteer, either as an individual or a group (and the group thing makes it so simple and fun and gratifying!) at the DWC, or a zillion other organizations. You can prepare a meal and serve it. You can donate toiletry kits, clothing, and dollars. You can answer phones. You can listen. You can console. Just letting someone know that someone else cares, and will look them in the eye and hear them makes such a massive difference in someone's day. There are so many problems needing solutions in our world right now, but you have to start somewhere. And that somewhere is CARING. And then going out and doing something - ANYTHING - about it.

Thank you to the great folks at the Downtown Women's Center, and to Christina for getting us all involved. As ever, love is the best answer.

*Photos by Christina Conway

An Ocean Avenue Installation

 *Update 10/18: I walked by this morning and it's all gone. Even the bushes. In less than 24 hours.
   Sorry, dudes. I was into it. Keep your art going!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've noticed an increasingly larger homestead/art installation growing at the corner of Ocean Avenue and South Venice Boulevard. It's clearly a little colony of houseless neighbors, creating their shelter in the bushes located there ... and decorating it for passersby to enjoy.

Not everyone is enjoying it, however. A woman at the Farmer's Market last Friday told me that she'd been making calls to have it cleared out, but to no avail. She said she was told that you can actually get arrested yourself if you try to remove the things from the property. She felt it was a more nefarious deal, and that police might have been told by council people and/or those who want to see the big homeless housing development happen on Venice Boulevard to leave it be. To let things get as bad and obvious as possible to get more people to sign on for the housing project. Hmm.

I don't know about all of that, but I do know that it is some of the more creative construction happening around Venice these days (other than the Frank Gehry house finally going up!). I'm about to make friends and ask if there's room for me, as it seems to be about the only remotely reasonable housing currently available around these parts (Seriously. Where are all my cool landlord friends hiding?!), and this is where I want to be. What are the rules, anyway? You can just put up a tipi wherever you want and live in and landscape around it? Cool. I had an offer off an unused geodesic dome that its owner said I could borrow if I could find land to put it on ... out of the box, but at least some people are still being innovative in Venice.

My friend said they must be rookies, as no one who lives on the streets is ever trying to attract that much attention to themselves. I've seen police there talking to the residents a few times now, and have thought their time there must be up, only to pass by the following morning to see it all still intact. I'm not mad at it. We all know Venice real estate is almost evilly ridiculous as of this writing, and you do what you have to do. Venice has long been a beacon for travelers of all kinds, and certainly one for artists. This corner appears to be for both. And art is for everyone.

I'm curious what other Venice folks think about this ... let's discuss.

Let's Be Better Humans - With The I Have A Name Project

What an excellent morning. I had my gorgeous beach walk, and wound up chatting with a dude on a lifeguard tower all about the ocean and nature and how and if we can save it. He thought that by us even having that chat with each other as strangers was a good start. It was really good to know that there are others out there thinking like you do in these times. Then, on the way back from the sand, I saw this big, magic bus parked on the side of the road, with "Let's Be Better Humans" painted on both sides of it. I had to know more, and luckily for me, the bus driver was there.

Jon Linton, founder of the I Have A Name Project was about to take off to Skid Row to go help the homeless, but invited me aboard the bus to tell me about his organization. Linton started this wonderful campaign after volunteering at a homeless shelter and being told by one of its residents that he was touched, because no one ever asked him his name. "You have no idea how long it's been since someone cared to ask me who I am. We are the forgotten, the walking invisible," said the homeless veteran, Chuck Ridgeway. That gave Linton both the idea to do something to help these people - and the name for it. (I had a similar experience myself while volunteering at PATH in downtown L.A., when a man told me it had been so long since someone had looked him in the eye. It's the little things that bond us together, and that is just basic human respect.)

Linton began photographing the plight of the homeless, which led to feeding and clothing thousands in need, photographic exhibitions, mural projects, and a book. The Let's Be Better Humans revolution began because ... just look around. We need a revolution of love and humanity. We exist for one another, we can make a difference, and we can leave this world a better place than we found it ... but only if we do better.

The Let's Be Better Humans hits the streets twice a month to do just that. They distribute backpacks filled with socks, a rain poncho, snacks, and bottled water. FYI - Backpacks and socks are the most requested items in shelters, and the least donated. There's one way to help right there. Linton had just been in Venice to give out clothes in a little pop-up shop they created on the Boardwalk, and they were cleaned out in no time flat by the grateful houseless residents of Venice.

This is the kind of thing I just love, and I was honored to accept the marker Linton handed me to sign one of the seats of the Let's Be Better Humans bus. People from all over have joined this revolution, and their autographs cover every surface of this fantastic vehicle. My heart was full as I stood on the sidewalk, waving farewell to Linton as he honked and headed off to Skid Row. It does the soul good to know that there are still good people doing good works out there ... but it does it even better to do them yourself.

You can do as Linton says ... "Whether it's advocating for the homeless or the planet, you can make an impact. Don't wait for a hero, become a superhero. Never underestimate the power of ONE. Follow your heart and step into action."

Done. Thank you for an inspiring moment of an already inspiring day, Mr. Linton. And thank you to Venice for still being a place where magical encounters like this are not the exception, but the norm. C'mon, Everybody! Let's be better humans! One Love.

https://www.facebook.com/THEIHAVEANAMEPROJECT

https://twitter.com/_IHaveAName_

https://www.instagram.com/theihaveanameproject/

https://www.ihaveaname.org/contact 

More Love!

If you read my last post, you'd know that I've been having a hard time with all the hateful rhetoric going around these days, never mind the actual violence. I decided to really make a point of searching out and  focusing on the LOVE that I know exists in everyone, and talk about that instead. When you make these choices, the world seems to arrange itself accordingly. Like when first thing this morning I saw David Busch sitting on the sidewalk in front of Mystic Journey on Abbot Kinney, offering "Free Love" to anyone passing by.

Well, I of course took him up on not only a "More Love" piece (which is a "command"), but also the chance to sit down on the curb there with him to hear what he had to say about the state of our city and country's affairs these days. I asked what he'd been up to lately, and he simply replied, "Love". Awesome.

We discussed the homeless "problem" here in Venice, and the only problem he sees is the persecution of people by authorities simply because they can't afford a proper house - because of an affordable housing crisis here in Venice that we all feel. He considers the sweeps on the homeless down at the beach a form of terrorism, and so do I. It's all about fear, and we both cannot understand why people who need the most help in one of the richest cities in the world, really aren't getting barely any. We talked about Venice being a "Cultural Wetlands" - which I loved - and how it's biodiversity of both people and creativity are being severely endangered ... and how we'll both fight to preserve it.

This will all be discussed in depth tomorrow night at the Venice Neighborhood Council meeting held at Westminster School at 7 p.m., where they will attempt to come up with "Homelessness solutions." David Bush will be there, perhaps with the best solution of all ... More Love.

A Vietnam Memorial Visits Venice

When I arrived at the beach this morning for my foggy walk, I was greeted by the sight of a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Hmm. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this "Wall That Heals" being put up right in the middle of where so many people came to protest the Vietnam War ... and also where so many vets of that war have been left homeless and uncared for by the very country they went over there to protect.

There are two veterans that stand with their signs on Lincoln Boulevard at the entrance to the 90 Freeway almost every morning, and they could probably use the time, money, and energy spent on a small scale fake memorial far more than tourists needing to snap yet another picture of a copy of something many haven't seen in real life.

I've been to the real memorial in D.C. and all I felt was sad and angry, that so many lives were lost over such a corrupt endeavor ... and it's still happening. I've been very aggro this week (and apologize if I've come off as gnarly, but I feel SO strongly about making our world better, not worse.) , almost in a panic to get people out to vote and pretty much caucus-shaming them if they didn't ... because I can't sit by and be passive and silent and complacent when today's climate almost guarantees more war unless people can wise up and elect someone that actually truly does want to try something new - and obviously Senator Sanders is the only one even trying.

I've also been to the Walter Reed Veterans Hospital in D.C., and it changed me forever. It made me vehemently anti-War, and passionately pro-Humanity. I saw soldiers freshly blown up, scrambled, and pieced back together, with nothing but disillusion in their eyes. This was not what they had signed up for. And the vast majority of these soldiers were "minority" or from underprivileged backgrounds ... the very people still being tormented today by Republican front-runners and their followers, and even the Police who are meant to protect us all, but so often target the ones with darker skin. And it's not right. And I can't help but say something every time ... and wish more people did.

I walked by the memorial replica this morning, and got unexpectedly emotional. Not at the sight of an aluminum wall that super pales in comparison to drama and emotion of the real one (kind of like seeing the Statue of Liberty at New York, New York in Vegas), but at the very scary thought that this really could happen all over again. If we're not careful. If we're not vocal. If we don't exercise our rights to vote and choose sane leadership. I don't know how "Healing" this wall of pain can be ... but at least there's a little mobile museum there to try and make people think.

I walked away, a bit uncomfortable at more reverence being shown for a fake wall than our fellow citizens sleeping in its shadow. I think we'd do better honoring our Veterans by taking care of them when they get home vs. carting a memorial replica around to remind us of how we've failed so many of them. Whatever goes down in this country, I'll still be the one putting flowers in rifles to honor those who fought my kind of fight before me.

The Wall That Heals is on display at the beach through March 6th.

Even In Venice ... Unarmed Brendon Glenn Shot By Police

I was at dinner last Tuesday night with a group of friends, including Louis and Netty Ryan, owners of The Townhouse. The idea was to head over there after dinner for a nightcap, but I bowed out because of an early morning the next day. A couple hours later, there were sirens screaming like crazy, and I wondered what had happened now.

I awoke the next morning to hear the news that an unarmed homeless man, Brendon Glenn, had been shot and killed by the police in front of The Townhouse. UNARMED. Again. Not in some backwards town somewhere where this might not be surprising, but in VENICE. Shocking. Disgusting. ENOUGH.

I went down to Windward over the weekend to talk to people and see how everybody was doing with this. The answer is not good. By all accounts, this was not an incident that called for deadly force. Not even remotely. What kind of pussy needs to shoot someone that isn't armed, when you have a bunch of different options at hand, called billy clubs, tasers, mace, and the rest of your police department to back you up? Shoot them dead?! For WHAT?! And if you HAVE to use your gun (which you don't, almost ever), you don't learn how to aim for a foot or an arm or something that isn't fatal?! It's sickening, and seems to be a systemic problem, nationwide. And the People have had it.

There was a march calling for Justice that I could not attend, but was proud of. There was a Neighborhood Council meeting, that I also could not attend, but heard it was both fiery and frustrating. There have been candlelight vigils in front of The Townhouse, but that doesn't bring back someone's father. The tape of the shooting has not yet been released, but every single person who witnessed it is saying a gun wasn't necessary. They don't even have to, the man was UNARMED.

The answer is not more police, Councilman Bonin. They're the ones who murdered this man. The entire country needs to do some long, hard self-reflection. All these gun deaths are not only unnecessary, but shocking and embarrassing as a citizen of the world. What kind of crazy people kill each other like this over nothing ... all the time?

It's incredibly sad. You don't think it could happen here. But it did.  And it has to stop.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Glenn. We're all so very sorry this happened to you, here of all places.

Houseless in Venice - The Gonzalez Family

The Gonzalez family had lived at 1033 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice since 1953, when it was still called West Washington Boulevard. Mr. Gonzalez worked hard as a gardener at the Fox Hills Golf Course. He saved up, bought his home in Venice, and owned it outright, free and clear. He and his wife raised 10 kids in that house, which was built in 1904, a year before Abbot Kinney even officially proclaimed the land "Venice".

The kids all went to Venice schools, worked and played in Venice, at a time when no one locked their doors, you talked to your neighbors on the streets, and the whole town would turn up for concerts or Thanksgiving dinners at the Venice Pavilion. They were happy times, and four generations of the Gonzalez family lived in their home. Then Mr. Gonzalez died. Then Mrs. Gonzalez died. Then it all fell apart.

I'd seen the family out in their front yard for years, saying hello as we'd pass by on our way to Lilly's restaurant next door. The house was starting to show the wear and tear of passing years, but I always liked that there was a regular old house on Abbot Kinney, full of lawn art and wind chimes, in stark defiance to all the change and gentrification stuff going on up and down the street. They weren't going anywhere. Then one day the family was camping out in their car. Then under a tarp on the side of the house. Then one day the entire house was gone, razed to the ground, and the people had set up camp on the sidewalk in front of the house. They STILL weren't going anywhere. After seeing this go on for about 6 months or so, I was going by on my way to Joe's (for the excellent Artist & Architect show curated by Tibby Rothman - great!) a few weeks ago, and decided just to ask the woman sitting there what was going on.

Adele Gonzalez lived in her family home on Abbot Kinney since her father moved the family in when she was 8 years old. Now 64, Adele told me her rough story as we sat on the curb in front of her now vacant lot of family memories, where she has slept since the whole nightmare began.

I wanted this to be a story about how The Man came in and forced out a poor family, something I could rage against, and shine light upon another shady housing scandal. This is not that story. Adele has a wayward brother, who after learning some swindling techniques during a prison stay, screwed the rest of his family out of both their family home and any proceeds from it (which online public records show sold for 1.3 million in 2010 to an unknown buyer). As we all well know, there's not a lot you can do to sort out other peoples' family dramas, but what we can do is clear up the hurtful rumors and check ourselves a bit as neighbors and members of the Venice community.

Adele would laugh at me using the word that I so often do regarding Venice - "Community". She doesn't think it exists in Venice any longer, but I think it's more a case of her not BELONGING to the community. Folks waving to each other from table to table at Gjelina, or in line for coffee at Abbot's Habit would certainly argue for the existence of community among Venetians. Dog park people and Kid park people and yoga class goers and the surf line-up and the Skatepark and the Boardwalk, all of us have a sense of place and belonging here after a while. But to hear Adele talk about her family situation, all sense of community for them dried up the minute they were booted from their home.

And booted they were. They were given about 20 minutes to gather their things and get out. A sister had missed a couple of loan payments she had taken out for home repairs (wasted money and effort as the house was bulldozed shortly thereafter), and that created the opening the brother needed to swoop in and sell the thing. It's kind of a murky tale how it all came down, but that's not really the important part of the story. It's how they've been treated after the fact.

Adele is not a fan of Bill Rosendahl or his homeless programs. She is not a fan of Officer Skinner and her colleagues, who they feel harassed by (they were given two tickets in one week for having their things in found grocery carts - considered stolen. How are they supposed to pay these tickets when they're just trying to get money for food?!). She is not a fan of the Baptist minister next door, who told them they couldn't keep their things on the side of the church, as it "might attract more homeless people." Adele doesn't take kindly to being called "homeless" as she sits outside of what was her family's home for over half a century, and added, "God never turns anyone away." Yeah.

So they sit there and refuse to leave. Adele sits there and hears people go by talking about them as if they're not there. They've been laughed at and called awful names, heard stories about how there were crazy hoarders living there, someone got killed in there, they had to condemn it, on and on, and not true and extremely painful to hear when you know, more than almost anybody, every bit of history - HISTORY - of this place we ALL want to live in and love. It's awfully hard to swallow, one can imagine. For all of these nasty comments and slights, there are the occasional folk who come by and offer help or a bottle of water or five bucks to get a sandwich, and of them, Adele says, "They helped me, and God is going to help them. Think about it, one day you might be where I am, so don't judge me or my family. Only God judges."

There's something to be said for yanking up your bootstraps, and making things happen for yourself, even when you've been screwed over, because that can and will happen to everyone. I'm not sure what went wrong with the Gonzalez family internally to get them to where they are - Adele, her two grown sons, and two sisters are all camped together on the sidewalk, even right now as you read.  I'm also very well aware of the attitude some have towards "the homeless" based on well-founded fear from bad experiences with some of the Mad Max style, tough customer homeless roaming the beach area, or just small-minded fear based on personal property value stuff. Adele's father taught her to never lie or steal, and as she sees it, her only crime is being poor. Believe me, from sitting and talking with Adele and her family, they do not WANT to be on the street. They do not want to be in the way of your fancy stroller coming down the sidewalk. They do not want to be starving on the sidewalk just down from some of the posher restaurants in town. They need help. They just don't know how to ask for it after living right there in their house for so long.

Shelters take women with young children first. There's a waiting list that older women with grown and troubled sons idle at the bottom of. Adele is tired, and cold every night. Her sons need work, which could vastly help the situation, but it's hard to secure work without an address and not much else but the clothes on your back. Adele has her birth certificate, and the original deed to the house. She doesn't know hardly anything about the laws or real estate issues, but an "Advocate" from the city is "supposed to" come and see Adele to try and help them. She doesn't plan on going anywhere until some of this is straightened out, if it even still can be. They need to be more pro-active, but that's easier said than done when you've slept outside all night, are sore, tired, hungry and have no means to get anywhere.

Adele cried when she watched her childhood home bulldozed in front of her face on Easter weekend, as she watched from the cracked concrete where she now sleeps. She stays put out of defiance, to make a point, to HANG IN THERE. But she can't keep this up. It's cold, uncomfortable, unhealthy, ugly living. I find it admirable, in a FUCK YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME! kind of way, but I also find it heartbreakingly sad. That people would hurt each other so, even from within family. That people would react to them so heartlessly in the aftermath. And also, that they would settle for this kind of life for themselves. They're willing and able to accept help, if anyone in housing or law or that kind of thing can give it. There has to be a solution, and a willingness, from both the family and the community, to DO SOMETHING. I believe that's what we're all here for after all, EACH OTHER.

I'm reminded of a quote from Billie Holiday, that just lays it all out bare ... "You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave."

Yeah.

*House photos from 2005/6 (with SPONTO!) by Jennifer Everhart

Help The Homeless - Even If You Get Busted

Everyone knows I love Venice, and always will. I've just become a little dismayed at the direction things seem to be heading these days, and feel like it should be discussed, pondered and helped.

I recently had to move out of the rent-controlled apartment I'd lived in since the late 90's. I had a nightmare of a situation for years with an overly entitled landlord (Phil Bubar - don't rent from him, ladies) who liked to let himself into my place whenever he liked and do whatever he felt like, which I don't even like to think about. I had witnesses/neighbors tell me about seeing him go in and stay for an hour or so. I'd have friends stay over with just the guest key that works in the doorknob come back and be locked out because both locks were locked - meaning he'd been in there again. I make my bed each day like a military person, and I'd come home to see a sitting mark he hadn't even bothered to smooth out, right next to my pile of laundry. My brother once awoke from a nap to find him coming out of my bedroom, and when startled upon seeing my brother, made up some thing about checking smoke detectors. The last time I know of it happening for sure, I was at home at my desk writing and heard keys in the doorknob, but I'd dead-bolted it so he couldn't get in. Scary! I confronted him and he made up some thing about needing to look at the plumbing. Yeah. Right. We all know this is illegal. I stayed because it was old school cheap rent, rents for tiny little bachelors were now more than I paid for a two bedroom, and when I confronted him about it, he lowered my rent even further. Uh, guilty.

It's a long, ugly story that finally wound up in civil court for our rent dispute (He should be in criminal court, of course, but we never got that video proof the Police, the Housing Board, Tenant Lawyers, etal wanted. My word against his. His spendy lawyer vs. me representing myself, plus I'm so over it and never want to deal with the guy again in my lifetime ...). It's really a blessing in a great disguise. I put up with that deviant situation for WAAAAAY too long, all because Venice has gotten so expensive over the years, and writing is a very financially up and down life choice, so I played it "safe". Which turned out to be very unsafe, by the very person I was paying for years to live in a safe place. Yep.

So I got out. I'm extra blessed to have some fantastic Venice friends who invited me to stay at their place while they were away (Ozier Love Forever!), while I looked for a new place. NOT easy, considering how much Venice has changed since I last house-hunted, and truthfully, how greedy people have become. Total shit holes are going for $3,000 a month! Good luck with that. Anyway, Moving Day came and I had to put over a decade's worth of stuff into storage (after I'd already put most of the stuff out on the curb and watched it disappear immediately. This was fun. I'd do little themes - a straw hat, a hula hoop and a ukulele. Art supplies and paper. A cowboy hat and boots. On and on and all gone in 60 seconds. Signs of the times, I suppose. I only saw one of the people who actually took the stuff, but he seemed jazzed.).


I'd heard all about the raids/sweeps on the homeless living on that stretch of 3rd and Rose that has become a bit of a West Side Skid Row, where the police come through and throw all of peoples' worldly possessions in the trash if they're not watching them themselves. It was a cold and rainy day and I had a whole bunch of freshly laundered blankets, towels, old jackets and stuff that could go to Goodwill, or straight to the people that really need them. So, upon leaving the storage building on 4th and Rose with my two dear friends who were helping me move (LOVE YOU NATHAN AND MARC!!!), I got out on 3rd and went up to the nearest guy sitting on the sidewalk, explained I knew about the raids, and asked if he wanted to take whatever he wanted and share the rest with people on the block. He was stoked, I felt better, everybody wins.

Until driving away about a block later, we see police lights flash behind us to pull over. Great. As if I hadn't already been having the longest day possible, and was nowhere near done. My friends are Aussies and were driving a borrowed pickup, so the "license and registration" request was already out of the norm. I was in the backseat of the cab, and we were all asked for our licenses. One cop was on the driver's side, the other on the passenger. The passenger side one was a little dickhead who I'll forever regret not noting his name, but I was upset and forgot to. Here's why.

"The reason I pulled you over was you were just seen leaving a high narcotic trafficking zone. What business did you have there?"
"Oh, we're helping my mate move."
"Uh huh. Have you met her before today? What's her name?"
"Uh, CJ"

I mean, the guy was implying I was a crack whore right to my face!! I know I was in sweats and no makeup with pigtails, but I don't think I fit the casting, even so. I was getting SEETHING mad, and then -

"We have undercover agents working in the area, who saw you in an exchange with a man on the street."
"Yes, I've heard about the sweeps on the homeless here, and I'm moving, so I gave them a bunch of blankets and stuff. It's cold and raining."
"What did you get in exchange?"

Uh, a warm heart. Is this guy kidding me?! Then his smarmy little mouth I wanted to slap comes up with this outrageous deal -

"Ma'am, are you out on parole? On probation?"
"No, Sir." (that took everything I had to not just unleash the fury I had building, but I didn't need it to get worse, as I still had a whole household to move and very limited time)
"Have you been taking narcotics today? Been drinking? The reason I'm asking is why are your eyes so dilated?"

Hmmm ... I don't know, maybe because I'm exhausted, have been crying, have had no sleep, am having one of the most stressful times of my life. Oh, and shooting heroin real quick while I'm moving heavy items. WHAT?!?! I was PISSED. So he took our licenses back to the cop car and did whatever they do, while my friends urged me to remain calm. After a bunch of minutes, they came back and returned our licenses, asked some more b.s. questions about where did I live, where was I moving to, and suggested we avoid the area in the future. I couldn't even look at the guy. If I ever see him off-duty, it's on. Getting accused of being a crack whore for giving away clean blankets to the homeless?! I've really heard it all now.


This is what concerns me ... If people are going to get in trouble for trying to help the homeless, then they won't. They'll stop trying. And then what becomes of us as a society? It's already happening, obviously, but it doesn't have to be this way. Venice began as a bohemian place for artists and writers and musicians and creative people that moved here because the rents were cheap and there was a true spirit of fun, camaraderie, and the art of living that set it apart from anywhere else. We cannot let that die. I'm pretty sure no one WANTS to be homeless. It always helps to try on someone else's shoes before you judge - or bust - them. Landlords don't HAVE to jack up rents just because they can. That disgusting "Silicon Beach" nickname being tossed around/Google moving in doesn't have to squelch out the whimsical flame that has always burned here. Every store and restaurant doesn't have to be fancy and insanely overpriced - those are choices. Choices based on greed.

There is a reason the Occupy Movement began across the country and the entire world, and all of the above illustrates why perfectly. The greed of some cannot be sustained. There will be an implosion. The ones who have always had each others' backs will be the ones who continue to, and the ones who turned their backs will regret it in the end. That's why I wasn't too bothered ultimately about my creepy landlord deal, because after all is said and done, I still get to be me, and he has to fester in his dirty skin and mind. People who help others get to feel good, and the ones who don't, well ... I don't really know, 'cause that's never been me, but I can't imagine it's at all rewarding at the end of it all to have a fat bank account with an empty heart.


I always go back to my favorite Einstein quote, as it's really all that matters ... "Remember your humanity, and forget the rest." Amen. Let us hope that Venice can remember not only its humanity, but its origins, and remain true to who we should and can be.

Love, Your Venice Crack Whore - with a heart of gold.


* Photos snaked from Google Images via LAist.com (the first two) and KanesKennar.com (the beautiful homeless man one) as my camera was packed up. Thank you!

Venice Issues, Venice Nap

I am a bit bothered by some things lately, and with all the brothers and sisters out protesting with arms up on Wall Street (and it's spreading!), I need to address at least two issues (three counting how badly we need more bike lanes, but that's for another day) here in Venice.

One - if you go down The Boardwalk at night, you will not believe how many people are camped out to sleep down there. More than I've ever seen. I'm not sure if it's all due to economic situations or if a lot of it is by choice (or by addiction), but it's really sad to see. Especially when the Lincoln Place Apartments over there behind the Ralph's on Lincoln are - and have been for years - totally empty. Patrol guys bike around the perimeter to make sure no one is squatting or whatever. ACRES of empty, unused housing is sitting there rotting while we had the first big rain of the season the other night, and scores of people slept outside in it down at the beach. That is WRONG. Even if it's just letting people crash out there until they sort out what they're going to do about it all, at least it would be a short-term solution to get a LOT of people in out of the cold. Really.

Two - There are new robot looking trash cans down at the beach that are locked to prevent people, I guess, from digging in them to get the cans or bottles out. We all know Los Angeles/California budgets are broke, but the few coins that recycling revenue could bring them cannot possibly be more than the fancy new trash cans cost. When someone is at the point where they need to be digging through disgusting trash cans to get a couple cents to eat food, and we're not LETTING them do that (!), how can we feel like that's right as human beings?

These are the kinds of things worth protesting over. And we can all see for ourselves that when the PEOPLE band together ... things get done. Things CHANGE. So Let's go.

On an entirely different note (but it IS about sleeping on the beach), look at this dream of a nap set-up we came upon the other morning on the beach:



Once again, Venice ... the good and the bad go together. It's up to us to make sure the good persists.

Give. Thanks.

I am absolutely thankful every single day in Venice. I'm grateful to live in a place where our community cares for each other, for our surroundings, and staunchly supports human rights. Which is why I'm so extra bothered that this year's Feed The Beach, a Thanksgiving feast for the homeless, put on outside at Westminster for the last several years by Nina and James Merced of The Fruit Gallery, and pot-lucked by the entire neighborhood, was cancelled. CANCELLED!


Why? Because red tape and bureaucracy appear to be more important than humanity. The LA Health Department reared its head this year (Why? Neighbor complaints? Silly rules? General Grinch-ness?), and made it too difficult for the Merced's to overcome, with threats of fines, liability in case of someone getting food poisoning or something, seemingly impossible to get permits, and the usual governmental scare tactics. When James went to the Park & Rec to inquire about the permits, he was actually told, "It's illegal to feed the homeless". Now how anyone can even get their vocal chords to vibrate in such a manner to form those words, I'll never know. ILLEGAL to FEED the HOMELESS?! On THANKS - GIVING?!? Simply appalling.

There are plenty of opportunities to get out there and share what you have with those less fortunate. I strongly encourage you to do this at all times of the year, not just when these obvious holiday times roll around, but it's deeply sad that the uniquely Venice Feed The Beach won't be happening, just because our society has become so scared and litigious that we've lost sight of helping the hungry without homes. I keep hearing Einstein's quote in my mind these days, "Remember your humanity, and forget the rest". Perhaps the best advice ever.

All of this had me thinking, just WOW. REALLY?! as I did my daily beach walk the other day. It reminded me of an encounter I had a while back, rocking along the sand, totally immersed in Prince (Controversy), when I saw a Homeless Guy shuffling towards me, and in between us was a weird bird, one I've never seen before. It was in some kind of distress as it wasn't taking off the closer the Guy and I got to it. It had webbed feet like a duck, but normal bird black and white body, but then BRIGHT red eye circles around beady black eyes. The Guy and I nodded our chins at each other, and then passed on by.

A few feet later, we both turned around and looked back at the bird. He saw me turn and said something, that was drowned out by Prince. I took out my headphones and said, "Sorry, what?" He said, "I think he's hurt". I said, "I think so too". We both walked back and looked closer. The bird stayed put. A wave would come and push it along the sand, one time spinning it around so hard it was difficult to watch. The Guy said, "Maybe if I push it up a little bit with my shoe it won't get washed away?" As I was walking barefoot, I said, "Yeah, try that". He did, and it worked a little bit, but after some hissing and craning of the neck, the bird was still not moving. "I don't want it to peck at me if it's sick", said the Guy. "Yeah, me neither", I answered. "Maybe I should go tell the Lifeguard and they can call the Marine Animal people?" We pondered that while watching some more.

The Guy said, "I think he's exhausted from just trying to survive". We exchanged a glance that kind of felt like, "I know how he feels". It was an interesting understanding, and felt pretty heavy. He asked if I had any food to give the bird. I shrugged "Nope", as I didn't have much on, and no pockets. We stood silently for a moment, just watching the poor thing. Finally the Guy said, "I think I have a Vitamin E capsule in my backpack". Kind of random, but it was worth a shot. Energy, maybe? He dug the pill out of his bag, and walked over to place it on the sand in front of the bird.

All of a sudden, the thing went bezerk, flapping its wings and squawking like a maniac. It lifted off the ground and flew to the top of a wave, and then duck-dove under it like a surfer and was back in its element, like nothing ever happened! The Guy and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows and frowns, like "Hm. What do you know about that?" We watched the bird swim along for a moment, making sure he was cool. Once that seemed to be established, I shrugged and said, "Well ... Good Luck to us all!" The Guy smiled and said, "Yep, good luck to us all".

And on we three went. I think about that exchange often, but especially today, as we all prepare to gather and feast for the holidays, and hopefully, to share it all. In times like these, when feeding the homeless is "illegal" ... Well, Good luck to us all, indeed.

One more time ... Remember your humanity, and forget the rest!